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Rundown Philadelphia row home honored with funeral

The Associated Press

Posted:
05/31/2014 06:48:38 PM MDT

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People arrive for an event at the site of an abandoned home in the impoverished Mantua section Philadelphia on Saturday, May 31, 2014. The cultural and memorial project called ?Funeral for a Home? celebrated the dilapidated row house's colorful life before it was knocked down. Organizers from Temple University said it was an effort to commemorate neighborhood history in a city where about 600 houses are torn down each year and 25,000 others sit vacant. (AP Photo/Jessica Kourkounis)

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A funeral has been held in Philadelphia for a rundown row house seen as a symbol of urban blight.

Neighbors gathered Saturday in the impoverished Mantua (MAN'-shew-uh) section for the send-off. The row home was draped in floral wreaths for the occasion and feted with gospel music and eulogies.

Organizers randomly chose the building for a cultural project called "Funeral for a Home."

The idea is to recognize the neighborhood's history in a city where hundreds of homes are torn down each year.

Some believe the service could be cathartic for longtime Mantua residents hoping to see the area reborn.

The developer who bought the house plans to build affordable housing on the site.

Demolition begins on an abandoned home in the impoverished Mantua section Philadelphia on Saturday, May 31, 2014. The cultural and memorial project called ?Funeral for a Home? celebrated the dilapidated row house's colorful life before it was knocked down. Organizers from Temple University said it was an effort to commemorate neighborhood history in a city where about 600 houses are torn down each year and 25,000 others sit vacant. (AP Photo/Jessica Kourkounis) (Jessica Kourkounis/AP)

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Ernestine Eltzy holds a commemorative fan during a "home going" service at the site of an abandoned home in the impoverished Mantua section Philadelphia on Saturday, May 31, 2014. The cultural and memorial project called ?Funeral for a Home? celebrated the dilapidated row house's colorful life before it was knocked down. Organizers from Temple University said it was an effort to commemorate neighborhood history in a city where about 600 houses are torn down each year and 25,000 others sit vacant. (AP Photo/Jessica Kourkounis) (Jessica Kourkounis/AP)

Members of Mt. Olive Baptist Church Choir sing at the site of an abandoned home in the impoverished Mantua section Philadelphia on Saturday, May 31, 2014. The cultural and memorial project called ?Funeral for a Home? celebrated the dilapidated row house's colorful life before it was knocked down. Organizers from Temple University said it was an effort to commemorate neighborhood history in a city where about 600 houses are torn down each year and 25,000 others sit vacant. (AP Photo/Jessica Kourkounis) (Jessica Kourkounis/AP)

Cyion Deas, 5, right, watches with his drum as people arrive at the site of an abandoned home in the impoverished Mantua section Philadelphia on Saturday, May 31, 2014. The cultural and memorial project called ?Funeral for a Home? celebrated the dilapidated row house's colorful life before it was knocked down. Organizers from Temple University said it was an effort to commemorate neighborhood history in a city where about 600 houses are torn down each year and 25,000 others sit vacant.(AP Photo/Jessica Kourkounis) (Jessica Kourkounis/AP)

A girl fans herself as people arrive at the site of an abandoned home in the impoverished Mantua section Philadelphia on Saturday, May 31, 2014. The cultural and memorial project called ?Funeral for a Home? celebrated the dilapidated row house's colorful life before it was knocked down. Organizers from Temple University said it was an effort to commemorate neighborhood history in a city where about 600 houses are torn down each year and 25,000 others sit vacant. (AP Photo/Jessica Kourkounis) (Jessica Kourkounis/AP)

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